


You Are A Magnet, I Am Metallic

by sesera



Category: Free!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Loveless Fusion, Catboys & Catgirls, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 13:22:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9659279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sesera/pseuds/sesera
Summary: Rin comes from Australia to study at Haru's university for one year, and he's obviously still a virgin since he has his ears and tail. So does Haru. As their new proximity triggers dormant instincts for the first time in both of them, the pull of heat makes certain roles very clear...Some instincts just can't be fought, no matter how hard you try.You can't fight the undertowNot when you're all aloneHow long 'til you let go?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaptainScience](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainScience/gifts).



> You may enjoy listening to [my HaruRin mix](http://8tracks.com/sesera/rinharu-i-want-blood) while reading this!

When Haru finally saw Rin emerge from the customs doors at Narita Airport, he was relieved to see that he still had his ears and tail. But he didn’t have time to examine that feeling, or the internal surprise that followed, because Rin had spotted him and was running over. A huge grin was on his face as he lugged an impossibly huge suitcase behind him, and while he didn’t hug Haru, he did sling an arm around his shoulders as they walked to the courier counter to have Rin’s bag forwarded on to Haru’s apartment.

“Rin. Why did you bring such a big suitcase?”

“C’mon, can’t you just say ‘Welcome back to Japan’ like a normal person? And besides, I’m gonna be here for a year, of course I need this much stuff! Ah, it’s good to be back!”

Haru sniffed. “Is it mostly swimsuits or mostly fashion accessories?”

“That’s rude, Haru. I’m not like you. I wouldn’t pack an entire suitcase full of identical jammers and end up having to borrow regular clothes from Makoto.”

“That was one time,” Haru said primly, and Rin burst out laughing. The sound hadn’t filled Haru’s ears for so long that it washed over him, comforting and familiar. This was good. Their rhythm was all right, and now Rin was going to be here for a year.

If Haru’s sensitive nose was picking up some new scents clinging to Rin that hadn’t been there before, he would consider that another time. His ears twitched as he let Rin’s voice seep in again, as it always did when seeing him again after a long time. They Skyped occasionally, but it wasn’t the same. There was still that tension running between them, though, the one Haru had always accepted as part of their connection without pushing it, but that seemed to disturb Rin any time it rose to the fore. They had been maintaining a delicate balance for years now, but for the first time it felt strung tight between them.

After graduating Iwatobi High School, Haru had come to Tokyo to attend Toyo University. Rin had gone to Australia for college, but had decided to spend his junior year “abroad” back in Japan and Toyo University just so happened to have an exchange program set up with Rin’s school. The school year didn’t start until April, though, and it was late March now, so Rin couldn’t enter his dorm he would be living in just yet. So for a week and a half, he was going to stay at Haru’s. Makoto was back in Iwatobi visiting his family, but would return to Tokyo in about half a week.

Makoto, Haru remembered, still had his ears too. Only Nagisa and Rei had lost theirs sometime during summer break of their senior year of high school, something that had totally shocked Makoto while Nagisa had only giggled gleefully, his tail dancing madly, and Rei had blushed and fiddled with his glasses.

Rin’s (gigantic) suitcase got dropped off at the courier counter, and would arrive at Haru’s apartment sometime the next day. Now he just had a backpack, which he slung back on as they made their way downstairs to the trains.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

They had splurged on the fancy Skyliner express train from the airport, then made two transfers (Rin was extra glad he’d forwarded his luggage so he didn’t have to haul it up and down the escalators and stairs) before arriving at Haru’s station, Nishi-Sugamo on the Mita line. It was pretty evenly spaced between the main Toyo campus at Hakusan and the Sports Center with the pool at Itabashi-Honcho.

Not, however, that Haru explained any of this himself; Rin figured it out by perusing the pamphlet of info Toyo had sent him during the train ride. When he realized this, he let out a little huff of amusement at how perfectly Haru it was to have made such a sensible choice.

He had considerably less faith in Haru’s decision-making abilities when they arrived at the apartment itself, thankfully just a 5-minute walk from the station in the still slightly chilly mid-March air. The building was clearly old, and only two stories. Rin braced himself for moldy tatami mat floors and rickety sliding doors as they made their way up the stairs to #201, but the sight that greeted him wasn’t so bad after all. The space had clearly been freshened up in recent years. There was a small kitchen-dining area at the entry, then a door to the apartment’s only room, Haru’s bedroom. Off the short main hallway, there was a closet to the left and doors to the right leading to the bath and toilet spaces, respectively. The floors were all wood, though the door to the bedroom was in fact a sliding one. Haru didn’t have a balcony, just a window he could hang laundry from, but that was all right.

“Okay,” Rin conceded. “This place isn’t a _total_ dump.”

“Thanks,” Haru said dryly. “Make yourself at home.”

Then Rin noticed—there was no bedding set up for him, just the lone twin-sized bed in the bedroom.

“Oi, Haru,” he said as he fought to keep notes of hysteria from his voice, “where am I gonna sleep?”

Haru blinked at him, his ears flicked forward. “There’s bedding in the closet, I just haven’t gotten it out yet.”

“Oh,” Rin said, trying not to sound as relieved as he felt. For some reason, his face was hot. His tail twitched nervously.

“Or maybe you'd prefer to sleep in the same bed like—”

“Like we did as kids? Haven’t you said that to me before?”

“No. I was going to say, like we did in Australia.”

“Oh.”

Rin knew that in all likelihood, Haru had meant to say it jokingly, to tease him, but now the specter hung before them of everything they had had opportunity to do but hadn’t done. Rin remembered that night in Australia. He’d poured his feelings out, and he’d so desperately wanted to at least hold Haru’s hand, to seal this new openness between them with physical touch. But he had been afraid to—afraid Haru wouldn’t want that, and it would ruin this fragile, new thing between them. So he hadn’t.

“Do you want me to get out your futon now? You could take a nap,” Haru suggested.

“No! No, that’s okay. Um, do you think we could go for a walk around your neighborhood? It looks like we walked through a shopping street to get here? You could show me around.”

Haru smiled. It was just a little one, just the corners of his mouth turning up, but for Haru, that was the same as a grin. His blue-tufted ears were perked up too.

“Sure, Rin.”

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

After that, the days slipped into a routine of easy sightseeing and swims at the Toyo Sports Complex (school wasn’t in session and the swim team had a one-week break in practices, but Haru had a keycard to give him access), and Haru could almost forget the sense of thrumming energy he’d first picked up from Rin when they met at the airport.

But there were times, like when they were laying in their beds falling asleep, when he could feel whatever it was rolling off Rin in waves. It made Haru nervous and antsy too, and he thought maybe there was something Rin just needed to get off his chest and things could go back to normal.

Haru took a deep breath, and just asked.

“So, your ears—you’ve never—?”

“No.” Rin’s response was immediate, a bit defensive.

There was a pause before Rin spoke. “And you’ve never—”

“No.”

They were both silent. Haru thought things might just end there, but then Rin continued.

“Honestly, I’ve never felt the urge. I’ve never met an omega I wanted to mate. I figure it’ll happen eventually.”

“Yeah,” was all Haru could think to say. As an alpha, he’d certainly caught whiffs of attractive omegas around him from time to time, but none of them had ever felt right. He thought he’d know when the time came.

Rin went on, still sounding like he was psyching himself up.

“Some of the guys in Australia razz me about it, but I don’t care. Just makes me more motivated to kick their ass in the pool!”

No one on the team had ever mentioned Haru’s ears to him—at least not during practice. One day his teammate Miura had come in without his ears and tail, and a hush had fallen over everyone, but no one said anything. At drinks after practice a few weeks later though, a couple of the guys got drunk and started asking him about it. Miura got redder and redder before starting to gush about how great his girlfriend was.

Haru was still very relieved Rin hadn’t come home with no ears and gushy tales of a perfect girlfriend. But there was still one thing bothering him.

He asked very carefully, “So you’re sure you’re an alpha, even though you’ve never felt—?”

“Well, aren’t you the same way, Haru? I thought you could only get turned on by waterfalls.” His voice had a teasing lilt to it.

Haru thought back to all the times he’d smelled just the vaguest hint of an omega in heat—not that it happened very often, but as an athlete around other people a lot, it did happen—and had needed to leave the room before his instincts compelled him to do something stupid.

When he spoke, his voice was quiet and measured. “It’s not just waterfalls. I may still have my ears, but I know what I am.”

There was a beat of silence, then Rin laughed. “Haha! So even Haruka Nanase has urges. Don’t worry about me—I’ll find an omega mate soon enough.”

But to Haru’s finely attuned ears, there was a hint of doubt in Rin’s voice, and something inside Haru twisted uncomfortably at the thought of Rin finding an omega to mate.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

It may have been a long time since Rin was that fresh-faced transfer student cheerfully introducing himself—first at Iwatobi, then in Australia (two times now)—but there was a part of him that still got a thrill from the start of a new school year.

Swim practice had started up again, even though the new school year hadn’t officially begun yet. It was late March, and at the first practice Rin was among the new students introducing themselves to their upperclassmen—bright-eyed freshmen kids of only 17 or 18 who had been scouted from all over Japan. It was 6 a.m., but no one seemed tired or sleepy. Instead, nervous energy flowed off them in waves and their ears and tails (intact for all) were twitching madly. Rin could see Haru hiding a smile as he watched Rin lined up to introduce himself along with the nervous freshmen as if he were one himself. To most people, Haru would seem expressionless and like he weren’t smiling at all, but Rin knew him—Rin could tell. _Asshole_.

“I’m Rin Matsuoka, a junior, here from Sydney University for a year. I’m originally from Tottori prefecture. I look forward to training with you all!” Rin bowed to his new teammates, same as the freshmen before him had done.

Later, at breakfast after practice, Rin found himself the subject of moderate curiosity. “So Matsuoka, you’ve spent some time out of Japan and now you’re back?” said Sakuma, a senior.

“Ah, yes. After this year I’ve got one more year at Sydney Uni and then I’m hoping to make the Japan Olympic team,” Rin said.

“Just like Nanase, then. Hey Nanase, aren’t you from Tottori too?” piped up another guy, Nakahara.

“We went to elementary school together,” said Haru.

“Oh wow! You guys must be close then.” The Toyo swim team seemed impressed with their connection.

“I guess, yeah,” said Rin a little sheepishly, conscious of the faintest hint of a flush on his cheeks. They didn’t need to get into the whole medley/rivalry history right now.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

April brought the official start of the school year, and Haru’s days soon became a steady flow of morning practice, breakfast, class, afternoon practice, dinner, studying. Rin had moved into his dorm room, so Haru was alone in his apartment, but he still saw Rin every day. Unfortunately, being around Rin so often meant he was having some—strange thoughts.

He was standing behind Rin waiting for his turn to dive into the pool the first time it happened. Rin’s tail was twitching eagerly as it poked out from his signature legskins, and the movement caught Haru’s eye. Before he could stop himself, he was noticing that Rin had kind of a really well-defined ass—and he felt a powerful urge to reach out and cup it sweep over him from head to toe. Then Rin dove into the pool, leaving Haru stunned in his wake. _What does this mean?_

But then it was Haru’s turn, and he gratefully let the water’s embrace and the pumping of his arms and legs wipe out thoughts of what had just happened. Maybe it was just a fluke. They were both alphas, so it couldn’t mean anything anyway. He forced himself to put it out of his head.

 *            *             *             *             *             *             *             *

About a month into Rin’s time here, they managed to meet up with Makoto one Saturday for shopping and then dinner. In March when Rin had first arrived, Makoto had been busy with a teaching practicum and hadn’t been able to spare time to meet, then they’d all been busy with start of school year activities and obligations.

At Makoto’s request, they had met at Harajuku Station. Haru was eyeing the crowds of tourists and high school students with some distaste as the bright lights of the Takeshita Street sign winked behind them. It was close to sunset, so the crowds weren’t as bad as they could be, but the street was still fairly packed full of people, and Rin knew Haru wouldn’t enjoy wading into that mess. Rin was trying to seem cool and bored, but the truth was he was excited to browse the famous trendy clothing and accessory stores.

Then Makoto emerged from the station turnstiles and ran up to them.

“Oh, Makoto! It’s been a while. How’ve you been?”

“Good! Sorry I’m late. And hopefully it’s okay to ask you to meet me here. Ren and Ran really want me to get them T-shirts from this one store, so...”

“Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. Not sure about this guy, though,” Rin jerked a thumb at Haru.

“Sorry, Haru! I know you’re not good with crowds,” Makoto apologized.

“Whatever. There’s just not this many people in Iwatobi,” Haru muttered a bit sulkily, his ears downturned and his tail flicking in annoyance.

“C’mon, Haru, don’t sulk. Do you need me to protect you?” Rin teased, but to his surprise a faint flush came across Haru’s face and his ears perked up a little.

“No,” Haru said curtly, averting his gaze. The crosswalk turned green and he strode off, Makoto dashing after him. Rin sighed and then followed.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Finally their mission was complete—Makoto had found the twins’ T-shirts, Rin had found some cool places where he’d gotten a new hat and other accessories, and even Haru had found something to pique his interest when they’d passed a character goods store that had one of his favorite mascot characters in it. He’d snapped up a phone strap of it and immediately attached it to his phone case. After that, he stopped complaining about the crowds.

For dinner Makoto had gotten a recommendation from one of his upperclassmen for a place in one of the smaller, much quieter side streets branching off from Takeshita Street. There wasn’t much to announce that it was a restaurant besides a small rectangular lantern with the name of the place spelled out on it and steps leading down to a door, but Makoto led them in and soon they had a table on the third floor. It was a hole-in-the-wall style izakaya, clearly popular with businessmen and definitely the type of place that didn’t even have a no-smoking section. But it felt comfortable and everything on the menu was cheap, including a selection of sushi and other fish dishes, so Haru was happy enough. Feeling like the shopping mission had earned them a reward (and also, partially, wanting to feel like adults), Rin and Makoto ordered draft beer. Haru had a lemon-flavored shochu cocktail (and water, of course), mostly out of retaliation after Rin had teased him about not ordering anything alcoholic. They toasted to the start of a new school year as the table gradually filled up with plates of edamame, gyoza, stir-fry kimchi and pork, fried mackerel with salt (at Haru’s insistence, of course), and other dishes. Considering the cheap prices, everything tasted amazing.

Because of their strict swim team schedule and corresponding diet, Haru and Rin almost never drank—and Makoto wasn’t huge on going out and getting drunk with his teaching program friends either. So it only took a couple rounds before they were all a bit... tipsy.

“Heyyy, Makoto... you got yourself a girlfriend yet?” Rin finally burst out. It was obvious he’d been wanting to ask for a while. They both knew Makoto was a beta, but Rin hadn’t missed that he still had his ears.

Makoto, who still had his ears, blushed bright red. “Rin!” he protested.

“He does,” said Haru, peering into his almost empty glass. “But they haven’t done it yet. Ears and all.”

“Haru!” Makoto cried. “You can’t just _say_ that!”

Haru frowned and Rin crowed with laughter. “What’s stopping you, Makoto? Hey, show us a picture!”

Makoto sighed but got out his phone and showed them. Haru didn’t look; he’d already seen her when they’d met briefly one time at Makoto’s place (she’d been leaving just as Haru arrived).

As much fun as ribbing Makoto was, Rin didn’t want to actually piss him off, so he let the ears subject drop. He did shoot a glance over to Haru, only to find Haru already looking at him. When Haru noticed Rin’s gaze, he quickly looked away. Rin’s face flushed, whether from the alcohol or something else, but he felt too buzzed to really think about why.

After dinner, Haru and Rin walked Makoto back to Harajuku Station before they made their way over to the Omotesando area to get on at the station that was on the same train line as theirs. It was late and there weren’t many bars in this area, just closed storefronts, so the streets were fairly deserted. Rin felt happy after spending time with friends and his stomach full of good food, and of course he’d had a bit to drink too—so he let himself sling an arm around Haru’s shoulders as they walked.

“Na-na-se!” he sang out for no real reason, feeling like he was channeling his childhood self.

“What’s with that,” Haru muttered, but he didn’t try to knock Rin’s arm off. Instead, it almost seemed like he was kind of leaning his head against Rin as they walked. Rin hadn’t been expecting that, and he felt something flutter in his belly.

When they reached the stairs down to the station, Rin let his arm drop, but once they’d boarded a train and found seats, it wasn’t long before Haru had dozed off next to him. Soon enough, Haru’s head had dropped onto Rin’s shoulder. Feeling loose and generous thanks to the beer, Rin didn’t try to push him off. In fact, he found himself getting sleepy too, and laid his own head on top of Haru’s.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

The next morning, Rin woke up feeling feverish. He felt sick and uneasy overall, and when he felt his forehead it was warm. He stumbled downstairs for breakfast in the dorm’s dining hall, but found he had no appetite and just sipped water and miso soup, with a few bites of rice.

 _I guess this is what a hangover is_ , he reasoned, since he didn’t normally drink very much, and decided to skip his planned run for the day. Instead he stayed in his room studying and doing some reading on speed swimming techniques. He fully expected to be back to 100% the next day.

But he wasn’t. The next morning came, which was Monday and meant practice at ass o’clock, but he still felt like shit. But at this point the routine was automatic, so he dragged himself out of bed at 4 a.m. like always and went to the Sports Center for practice.

Unfortunately, as soon as he got in the water, he knew he shouldn’t be there. It was a struggle to just get through his first set of two 100-meter swims, which were much slower than usual, and he felt drained as he pulled himself out of the pool—but practice had only just started.

“Matsuoka! Everything okay?” shouted the coach.

“Yeah, Coach, I’ll be okay,” Rin said. He didn’t want to miss a day of practice. Maybe he could skip his classes for the day and rest, but first he’d just get through this practice.

But it only got worse. As he was waiting to dive into the lane, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. Before he knew it, he was swaying on his feet. He almost fell, but—

“Oi, Rin! Are you all right?”

Haru was there, supporting him. His arms were around Rin, and Rin felt like melting into them.

_Haru..._

Rin looked at him, and for a second got lost in the blue of Haru’s eyes.

_He looks so concerned..._

_Don’t worry, Haru... I’m okay..._

Then everything went black.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

When he woke, he was in his room with a cold compress against his forehead. Haru was sitting next to the bed, and when he noticed Rin was awake his eyes widened and he leapt to his feet.

“Rin! Are you okay?” he practically yelped.

“Yeah, I’m fine...” Rin said, but his voice sounded hoarse and scratchy to his ears. “Did you bring me here? Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Rin, you need to go to the doctor. Your fever is really high.” Rin had never heard Haru sound like this before.

“Ah, it’s okay. If I just rest, I think it’ll be all right. You should get to class, Haru.”

It was all he could do to get the words out. Everything felt stuffy and tight in this room. Nothing had improved since this morning; in fact, he felt hotter and more uncomfortable than before. And for some reason, he could sense that Haru’s presence was making it worse. Maybe if Haru left, it would be okay—it would go away.

Haru stared at him for a long moment, but then finally said, “Okay. But go to the doctor, and I’m coming back to check on you in the afternoon.”

“Haru, you really don’t have to—”

“Rin. I’m coming back to check on you,” Haru said, and there was a hardness to his voice that Rin hadn’t heard before, but that made goosebumps stand up all over his skin.

“O-Okay,” he said weakly, and then Haru finally left. Some of the heat in the room did seem to dissipate, and Rin slipped into sleep...

 

_“Rin, come here,” the sultan commanded him. Rin approached the dais with trepidation, eyeing the guards spaced evenly around the luxurious marble palace. Slaves fanned away the heat as the sultan—Haru—sipped from a glass goblet of clear water. Rin felt the dryness in his mouth as he tracked the movement of Haru’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed._

_Rin was a thirsty traveler who had come from afar in search of the fabled oasis within the palace. He’d been captured trying to sneak in, and now he was before the sultan._

_“You have attempted to break into the palace.” Sweat glistened on the sultan’s abs, visible between his loose pants and the short top he wore. He lazed on the throne, his legs splayed. He had everything Rin had been searching for._

_“Yes. I’m sorry. I’m just—I’m so thirsty,” Rin confessed. “I’ve been... so thirsty.” He looked right into Haru’s eyes as he said it._

_One corner of Haru’s lips quirked up in a small smile. “Come closer, then,” he said, and Rin did._

_“Is this water what you want?” Haru said, offering the goblet to Rin. Rin reached for it, but Haru moved it away. “You’ll have to tell me how much you want it first. What you’ll do in return.”_

_Rin swallowed nervously. “I’ll do anything, Majesty.”_

_“Oh?” Haru said. “Anything?” He poured some of the water into one cupped hand before offering his palm to Rin. “Drink, then.”_

_The water was right there, and Rin was so parched. He couldn’t hold back. He bent his head and lapped at Haru’s palm, sucking the water up. When it was gone, he laved at Haru’s skin to get every last drop._

_“Very good,” Haru said. “Now tell me how much you want me, and you can have as much as you want.” This Haru was unusually sensual and confident, and it was unnerving. When did Haru get this... sexy?_

_“How much I—?” Rin was stunned. “But it’s the water I want. It’s—it’s not you. I’m—I have a different goal, I—” Rin spluttered._

_“Rin. We both know that’s a lie. Can’t you be honest with yourself?” he said silkily, gazing up at Rin with those clear eyes._

_Then Haru reached down, between Rin’s legs, and wrapped a hand around the hardness he found there._

_“It’s not just water you came for, is it now?”_

Rin awoke with a start. He felt hot between his legs, and when he reached his hand beneath the waistband of his sweatpants, it came back sticky with come. He’d just had a wet dream about Haru, but that honestly wasn’t even the worst part of this situation. He still felt overheated and jumpy all over, and now he knew why. It wasn’t a hangover, or a cold, or anything like that. It was heat. He’d gone into heat.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Late in the afternoon, Rin was lying in bed trying to read swim technique books and forget about this whole stupid thing when there was a knock at the door. _Shit!_ As soon as he realized what was going on, he’d texted Haru not to come, but clearly he’d shown up anyway, the stubborn asshole.

_Maybe if I’m quiet, he’ll think I’m not here and go away._

“Rin, let me in,” Haru said and knocked again.

There was a pause as Rin tried very hard not to make any movement or noise.

“Rin. I know you’re in there,” Haru said. “I can—I can smell you.” He almost whispered that last part, but Rin caught it. Panicked at the thought of anyone in the hall overhearing this, he yanked open the door and pulled Haru inside.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

As soon as the door shut, Rin hissed, “What the hell do you mean you can smell me?!”

“I know what’s happening to you,” said Haru. “I realized it later. You know too, don’t you? You’re in h—”

“Shhhhhh!” Rin said. “You’re wrong! I’m not!”

Haru reached out and stroked along his neck, and Rin moaned into the touch.

“I knew it. You are. That’s why you’re feverish. You can deny it, but it’s still true.” Haru was insistent, and his hand was still resting on Rin’s shoulder, which was making him feel even hotter and tenser. He knocked the hand away.

“Fine, okay. Can you just leave me alone? I’ll deal with it in my own way. Having you around makes it—worse,” Rin muttered, not aware of what he was saying. He was just trying to say something to get Haru to leave.

But Haru’s eyes widened; the meaning had not been lost on him. “Rin...”

“Shit. I didn’t mean that. Just forget it, okay?”

“Rin, can you just tell me—why didn’t this ever happen before? Why now?”

Rin snapped; all the frustration was just getting to be too much without Haru questioning him on top of it. “I don't KNOW! But everyone in my family is a late bloomer. Mom had us in her 30s.”

“So you never had heats in high school?”

“I’M NOT AN OMEGA!” The words rang out in the room, Rin’s anguish painfully clear in his voice. “I’m an alpha, like my dad! How can I fulfill his dream of winning gold at the Olympics if—if I can’t even—”

“Rin, being an omega has nothing to do with not being able to win gold.”

“Really?” Rin snapped back. “Have you even known an omega who’s won a gold medal in ANY sport, let alone swimming? Go ahead, name just one.”

All right, Haru couldn’t. “That doesn’t mean you can’t be the first—”

“That’s not the kind of legacy I wanted to have! That’s not what my dad’s dream was! I don’t want people's pity, I—” Rin broke off, tears leaking from his eyes.

Haru was completely out of his depth at this point, and Rin’s tears were making him feel bad for even bringing this up. But there was still a big problem that needed to be dealt with, and he couldn’t let it go. “Look, whether you accept it or not, it really looks like you’re in heat, and you need someone to help you before it’s too late.”

“And you’ll help me? You’ll be that someone, is that what you’re saying?”

“I—” Haru broke off. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying, what the full weight of it meant. He just knew that Rin was suffering, and he was—desperate to help him.

“Just leave me alone, Haru! I don’t need your help!”

Haru stood there in shock.

“I said get out!”

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

After the door slammed behind Haru, Rin sank onto his bed. Tears wouldn’t stop coming out of his eyes, and he felt deeply, achingly empty in every possible sense of the word. His hands shaking, he reached for his phone to email the coach and say he would be missing practice for the rest of the week for health reasons. _That’s how long they last, right? Heats? Fuck, I can’t believe this has become my problem. Fuck, fuck, fuck..._

But the _urge_ was like fire in his blood, like an undertow pulling him inexorably deeper the harder he fought. He needed to be filled up or he was going to go mad. It was so humiliating he could hardly stand it, but Rin knew very well that people died if they tried to deny the urges. As much as he wanted to deny this was even happening, he wasn’t going to sacrifice himself for his pride.

Rin tried to focus on just getting through this current situation and not how his swim career might be falling apart before his eyes, but it was extremely difficult.

 

Even more difficult was trying to get through this alone. By the next morning, when he’d woken in an extravagant nest of pillows and blankets with a weeping, aching cock and a throbbing deep in his hole that didn’t go away even after he angrily fisted his cock into an orgasm that did nothing to take the edge off and even shoved a couple fingers in his—wet, fuck, how the hell?—ass, he knew these circumstances were not sustainable.

Haru had made him an offer, hadn’t he? (More or less.) Before he knew it, he was packing up some things and he was out the door.

It was a long ride to Haru’s apartment.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

Haru was too tense to go to class, so after a bumpy morning practice where he hadn’t been able to feel the water properly and the coach had yelled at him to concentrate several times, he’d just come back home. So when someone ran up the steps to his door and pounded on it, he was right there on the other side.

He froze for a second, and then _that smell_ hit his nostrils. _Rin._ At that point, instinct took over. Rin was in heat, and Rin needed him, and he would do whatever Rin required.

He pulled the door open, and Rin practically stormed inside, toeing his shoes off and dropping a bag at the entry and then proceeding to pace around Haru’s tiny apartment. Nervous energy was rolling off him in waves, and Haru could smell his heat and his arousal. In this small space, it was heady and intoxicating. Before long, Haru wasn’t going to be able to control himself anymore. He felt alpha instincts coming alive for the first time. It wasn’t about him, an alpha, satiating himself. It was about caring for his omega and removing his pain. Put like that, what he had to do was as simple as slipping into the water and letting its flow merge with his.

Then Rin looked straight at him, and Haru felt caught. He was gone. Before he even knew what he was doing, before his mind could catch up, he was rushing to Rin and desperately crushing their mouths together.

“Rin, I—” he gasped out between kisses, and he’d never heard himself sound so undone. “I’ll give you what you need. But I can’t control myself if this isn’t what you—”

“I want it.” Rin’s face was flushed and he was panting. He licked his lips nervously, and Haru wanted to suck on that pink tongue. “This happened because it’s you, Haru. Because I came here to be with you.”

Haru’s eyes widened. That was it. That was why Rin went into heat when his family were all late bloomers. _It’s us, it’s our chemistry. We’re supposed to be doing this._

“I’m not fucking happy at all to be an omega,” Rin went on, so vulnerable his voice was wavering, and he was clearly on the verge of tears again. “But since it sure as hell looks like I am—I want it to be you. I want you to knot me.”

“Rin...” Haru said, and then he was pressing them back into the bedroom, until the back of Rin’s knees hit the bed and he fell back onto it, until Haru was hanging over him, taking off first his own shirt then Rin’s, kissing the whole time. _How did I never realize before? It’s always been Rin._

Feeling suddenly possessive, he bent to Rin’s neck and bit down on the flesh there, hard enough to leave a mark.

“Haru! What am I going to do if someone sees at the pool?”

“Let them see,” Haru growled. “You’re mine.”

Haru didn’t miss the way Rin’s pupils dilated at that, and he hurried to get their pants and underwear off and kicked aside so he could press them together, length to length, both rock hard. In the presence of an omega, Haru’s cock was coated in wetness, and Rin moaned at the feel of their skin sliding together so fluidly and easily.

“Tell me what you want, Rin,” Haru said. “Do you want me to touch you?”

“No, I—I just need you in me. Now. Right away. I’m so empty.” Rin was practically babbling, his need to be filled overriding his characteristic pride and sense of shame, and Haru groaned. He wasn’t going to hold on much longer if this kept up. Rin was right; he needed to be inside him immediately. It was the one thing that would sate Rin, and the one thing he could do and wanted to do so badly he could hardly keep it together.

There was no need for lube. When he reached to Rin’s hole and pressed a finger inside, it came away dripping, and Rin thrashed in frustration. A finger wasn’t enough; neither was two or even three. “Come _on_ , Haru, give it to me.” The impatience in his voice was clear, and Haru wasted no time in lining up and sliding inside.

It was the first time for both of them, and Rin’s eyes were dazed at the new sensation. For a second he couldn’t even focus on Haru, and then their eyes met and Rin wrapped firm arms around Haru’s back and clamped his ankles around Haru’s hips, locking him into place. “Now fuck me,” Rin said, and Haru almost came right there.

The second he started moving his hips, thrusting shallowly at first but then wilder and more uncontrolled as he discovered how amazing this felt (so hot, like he was at the center of the universe), Rin began to lose it. His body was shuddering all over and he was digging sharp nails into Haru’s back, raking them up and down. Then Haru leaned down to balance his weight on one arm so he could use his other hand to touch Rin, and Rin’s hands flew up to above his head and then flung out to the sides as he fisted the sheets. He couldn’t seem to stop moving, driven wild with the feeling of being filled. Haru reached up to pet Rin’s ears, soft and furry and red, then down to rub and pinch his hard pink nipples, and then down further to palm his cock, which made Rin cry out. God, the sounds Rin was making—he was moaning and keening, a litany of “Haru” and “Fuck” and “Don’t stop” and “Feels so fucking good.” Then there was his scent—the scent of an omega in heat getting fucked, which was the most perfect scent Haru had ever smelled. At this very moment, he knew with 100% certainty that this was where he needed to be and this was what he needed to be doing. Rin convulsed, coming violently, though Haru fucked him through it. He was still so hard it felt like he could do this for hours.

Once Rin had seemed to recover, he pushed at Haru’s chest until they were both back upright. Then he guided a confused Haru into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Then Rin clambered into his lap, sinking right down onto his dick until he was fully seated (with an accompanying sigh of contentment), and began to thrust up and down. He was making little noises, like “Nngh” and “Oh” and “Mmf, Haru” that were almost too sinful to be allowed. Haru found himself distracted by the rippling movements of Rin’s abs as he practically gyrated right before his eyes, and he let his fingers play along them and feel their hardness before moving back to Rin’s nipples. Rin was hard again, and Haru stroked him slow and firm as he bounced on his lap. Rin came again, the white liquid spurting out along those perfect abs.

 _I’m as bad as Gou_ , Haru thought.

But the highest overarching desire was the one to knot Rin, and it had to be done or Rin’s heat would never break and he would be left hard and wanting, feeling empty in the worst way. Rin sat on his lap, panting and sweaty, coming down from his second orgasm. “Rin, are you ready? I need to—I’m going to—” Haru said, and Rin nodded. Then he smiled, a full genuine smile, and it was the most beautiful thing Haru had ever seen.

He climbed off Haru’s lap and lay face down on the bed, angling his hips up and flicking his tail aside to offer his ass to Haru. It was one of the most goddamn submissive things Haru had ever seen in his life, and from Rin Matsuoka of all people. Rin Matsuoka, who hated showing weakness, who always tried to look cool. Emotions swept over Haru and froze him in place for a moment. Then Rin said, “Please, Haru, need you—” in the most perfect needy whine, and the hormones coursing through his body and the blood pulsing in his cock reminded him that everything had been leading him to this moment, right now. Making Rin _his._

He lined himself up and thrust in, sliding all the way home, hands gripped tightly to Rin’s hipbones as he tilted him up to get better access. Haru fucked him harder this time, rougher, the pace increasing until their skin was slapping together. Rin was sobbing by this point. “Haru, please—more—” Haru reached around for Rin’s cock, which was hard again, and after only a few strokes in his hand it went off and Rin shuddered again. He stroked higher and found Rin’s nipples, draping himself over Rin’s back and swiping some of the wetness from Rin’s cock onto his fingers and then reaching up to circle the tips. Rin let out a gasp and Haru pinched and rubbed at them some more.

Rin let out a frustrated noise. “Come on, Haru, fill me up—I need it—fuck—you’re the only one—” and Haru’s hips pistoned wildly. He felt it; he felt the knot forming, and he felt Rin’s muscles tensing and encircling it. _Just like the textbooks said_ , he thought, a bit breathless at how this was reality now. Rin came again, spasming underneath him as his back muscles undulated, and this time Haru couldn’t hold on any longer. He came the hardest he’d ever come in his life, and it felt like it really did last for hours.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

At some point, they’d lost their ears and tails. They’d drifted off, exhausted, Haru still locked firmly inside Rin, and when they came to there were a few things missing.

“We did it, Haru,” Rin turned to look over his shoulder at him and grinned sleepily. It was heartbreaking. “Lost our virginity.”

“Yeah,” Haru said, brushing aside the hair from Rin’s forehead before placing a kiss to it.

The knot had loosened, and he could pull out of Rin now. Rin turned to lay down facing Haru, wincing a little at the movement.

“I’m sorry, Rin,” Haru said, feeling suddenly guilty.

“What are you sorry for? You just helped me.”

“I’m sorry you’re an omega when you don’t want to be,” Haru said.

At that, Rin let out a long sigh.

“But,” Haru said, “I don’t think it will change anything. Including swimming. You’re still the same crybaby, romantic Rin.”

“Shut up,” Rin said, but there was no heat behind his words.

Then he sighed again. “You’re right. I overheard the coach the other day saying he doesn’t give a damn about who’s omega and who’s alpha on his team as long as they can make times. And Australia’s pretty progressive, too. As long as a heat doesn’t impact a competition, it should be fine. I still don’t want to broadcast it to the world, though.”

“Hard not to,” Haru couldn’t help saying. “It was so obvious that you were begging to be knotted.”

“What the fuck, Haru!” Rin bristled, turning bright red, but he also couldn’t deny it.

“Or maybe it was just obvious to me,” Haru conceded, and offered Rin a little smile. The way he’d _smelled_...

“Besides,” he went on. “The water doesn’t care about that stuff. And I don’t either.”

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was "ABO with omega!Rin. I want to see Rin, the most prideful character in Free!, deal with the repercussions of being born 'inferior' to those around him." (Some other prompts were good, including pirate captain Haru, but it felt too ambitious for me to tackle!) This was a challenge for me because I mostly just write smut one-shots with feelings tossed in along the way; angst is historically not my forte. So if it's terrible, that's why! But I appreciated the chance to approach a story with an actual plan in mind; I even made an outline for this! (It ended: "SEX.") This also became the longest fic I've ever written!
> 
> I'd never written A/B/O before, but I like stories about heat so I didn't have to reach too far. (I don't like mpreg so in this world, men can't get pregnant. Hence no mention of birth control.) I added in the Loveless AU part (people have cat ears/tails until they lose their virginity) because WHY NOT, catboys are great and that part of Loveless is hilarious.
> 
> I borrowed [extraordinary](http://archiveofourown.org/users/extraordinary/pseuds/extraordinary)'s headcanon of Haru attending Toyo University, which she has researched extensively for her fics, so thank you for that! All other details about life in Tokyo are drawn from my own experiences living here, and the places I mention (like the restaurant in Harajuku) are all real. And I have to admit to being very inspired by saezutte's [A Long Autumn's Rain](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5518247) (catboys in heat) and [control yourself, take only what you need](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2292191) (HaruRin A/B/O) as well. Check those out if you haven't.
> 
> I'm not very confident about this work but it was a good push outside my comfort zone and hopefully some of you enjoy it!
> 
> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/seriesera) / [tumblr](http://saerisera.tumblr.com/) @ saerisera!


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